English

Noun

alternative press ‎(usually uncountable, plural alternative presses)

1. (publishing, uncountable) Collectively, newspapers or other printed publications which provide an editorial perspective and information differing from—and often dissenting from—the outlook and information provided by more established, conventional, or official publications.
   • 1988 Jan. 12, Bill Keller, "For Soviet Alternative Press, Used Computer Is New Tool," New York Times (retrieved 4 Feb 2014):

     Despite shortages of money and supplies, a Government monopoly on printing presses and occasional police harassment, a new generation of samizdat, or self-published, journals is offering an open challenge to the official press. The alternative press now includes dozens of magazines in Moscow and Leningrad, with others reported in the Baltic republics, the Ukraine and Armenia.

   • 1999 Dec. 5, M. Lewis Stein, "Letters to the Editor: Just the Facts, Ma'am," Newsweek (retrieved 4 Feb 2014):

     Nonobjective writers gravitate to the alternative press—or to the editorial page.

   • 2006 June 26, Ian Burrell, "Tony Elliott: Time Lord," The Independent (UK) (retrieved 4 Feb 2014):

     "A lot of the issues in the magazine were the things we cared about in the early Seventies: racial equality, non-discrimination against gays, police harassment, housing. There weren't a lot of voices flying the flag for all those issues. Time Out, like others in the alternative press, flew all those flags."

2. (publishing, countable) A particular publisher or publication of this type.
   • 1997 Oct. 22, Lena Williams, "Celebrating Writers Who Defy All the Odds," New York Times (retrieved 4 Feb 2014):

     "If it were not for the existence of feminist-controlled alternative presses, many works of creation and social criticism by women writers would not be published at all," said Ms. Aidoo.

References

• alternative press at OneLook Dictionary Search